Promises
by Nobody Amazing
Summary: Star's book of spells was stolen by Ludo and Marco promises to help her get it back. How will this simple task change anything between them? Please review so I know I'm pleasing my readers. UPDATE: I want to discontinue this story. I feel like re-writing this story to work out some of the issues. But until I do, I'll leave it here for those who enjoy reading it for what it is.
1. Chapter 1

At the Diaz household, Star lay awake in her dark bedroom inevitably recollecting her complete and utter defeat.

Since Ludo successfully acquired her spell book, he is now a major threat. More so than when he first confronted Star with the other half of her wand. There's no limit to what Ludo could potentially do with dark magic and the knowledge gained from the spell book.

But that wasn't the only oppressing matter at hand for Star.

She once believed it was weird to develop romantic feelings for her best friend. As if it were some sort of unwritten, forbidden code.

Ever since she played a game of Truth or Punishment, she confirmed her love for Marco within herself. She even longed for his company during Bon Bon's seance.

But he isn't hers to take.

Marco finally achieved a romantic relationship with Jackie. Yet another obstacle for Star.

Her poor heart lurched at the sight of the two lovers hugging so closely after the fight with Ludo. She even witnessed their first shared kiss afterward.

Or was it their second?

Third?

Star tried to fight back the overwhelming sadness that rushed upon her like an avalanche. She really wanted to cry knowing Marco is now Jackie's territory.

Suddenly, Star quickly perked up from her pillow and listened intently. Footsteps were trekking down the hallway at a steady pace, as if trying not to wake anyone.

 _It must be Marco._

About an hour ago, he offered to escort Jackie back home, to which she happily accepted.

The footsteps came to a halt in front of Star's closed bedroom door.

"Goodnight, Starrr!" Marco said in a loud whisper.

Marco didn't expect a reply and continued advancing toward his room.

Tears began streaming down her cheeks.

"Goodnight, Marco," Star said in a soft whisper before shutting her eye lids.

 **A/N: Please review, favorite and/or follow this story if you enjoyed it so far! Btw, I promise I'll make the following chapters longer!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Just wanted to thank those who have reviewed, followed, and favorited this story. The encouragement to keep this story going is greatly appreciated! More than you know!**

Marco woke up the next morning struggling to keep his weary eyes open.

Another daily routine of school is in store for him, which means there is a great deal of demands for him to meet.

Sleep deprivation makes everything about the role of a high school student worse. But he didn't regret any feeling of it.

His first date with Jackie last night went well for him, despite having to rescue Star from her impending doom.

He mentally applauded himself for mustering the courage to express his feelings for Jackie, resulting in a profound advancement with her. Even though the talking Truth or Punishment cube gave him no other choice.

But it still felt a little wrong, how quickly they became a romantic couple with barely enough chemistry compared with Star.

Marco glanced down at his phone to see a "good morning" text from Jackie. He smiled, dismissing his previous thought. The cube basically did him a favor, as it is unnerving to express one's love for another without help. He knew not to take this newfound relationship for granted.

He became comfortable to hold real conversations with Jackie overnight, so getting to know her better shouldn't be a challenge.

Marco changed into his usual attire and began marching over to Star's room.

He quietly entered her room and walked over to her bedside. He chuckled at how she slept with her mouth agape.

"Star," he said in a low voice.

"Star, time to get ready for school. It's Fridayyy," he said in a more loud and cheerful tone.

Star yawned and slowly rubbed her eyes.

"Oh joy," she said, but her usual chipper and bubbly tone of voice was absent. Her tired eyes and sad facial expression also showed the exact opposite of joy.

Marco assumed she is still upset over losing Glossaryck and her spell book to Ludo.

"Hey, I'll help you get your spell book and Glossaryck back from Ludo this weekend. I promise," said Marco with a reassuring smile.

"I'd like that, thanks Marco," said Star with a shy smile, feeling slightly better.

After breakfast, Star and Marco walked to school for some time in silence before Star spoke up. She had to ask.

"So, how was your night out with Jackie?"

Marco quickly replied with a big smile. "It was the best! I mean the dance was a total disappointment, so we went on a date instead. Nowhere special, though. We even kissed three times on our first date!" Marco emphasized the last part in a softer tone, " _three_!"

"Wow Marco, I'm proud of you," Star said, but her words sounded hollow.

Marco frowned.

"Is there something else wrong?" Marco asked, completely oblivious.

"Well I-I didn't get a good look at Bon Bon last night. He was sucked into the black hole as soon as he appeared," she lied.

"That's too bad, sorry your night was a disaster."

He didn't know the half of it.

The school was in sight now. Star and Marco could also see other students chatting away in front of the school.

"Hey Star, I'm going to look for Jackie. Catch you later!"

"That's fine, I'll just hang out with Janna - wherever she is," Star said with a fake smile brighter than she actually felt.

When Star finally found Janna, she was fumbling with a random locker in a hallway. Star began to inch closer behind her.

"What'cha doing?"

"Whoaa! For a second, I thought you were a teacher," Janna said trying to get over her mini heart attack. "Anyway, this girl from detention borrowed my book on demonology two weeks ago. I still don't have it from her, so I'm taking it back."

Janna resumed to pick the lock. Eventually, she got the lock released and eagerly rummaged through the locker.

"Success!" Janna exclaimed as she happily pulled out the book.

"Hey do you wanna take a walk with me?" Star asked after a minute of silence.

"Where to?"

"I don't know, just . . . around."

Star and Janna ventured outside of the main building. They were talking for a while until Star suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar red hoodie.

Marco and Jackie were sitting on a bench laughing and conversing. It still hurt Star to see them so happy together. Her heart would completely break again if Janna hadn't been trying to snap her out of her gaze.

"Star? Did you hear me?"

"Huh?"

Janna sighed. "What's gotten into you, Star? Ever since last night you've been . . . well . . . distracted. Is this about Marco again?"

Star averted her attention to the happy couple once again.

"He seems really happy to spend time with Jackie," Star said, trying not to sound somber but failed.

At that moment, Janna picked up on what Star really meant. She felt like an idiot for not discovering the source of her distress sooner, when it was so blatantly obvious during the seance.

Janna laid a hand on Star's shoulder in a comforting way.

"Just give him time," Janna smirked, looking over at Marco. "He'll come around."

She sounded so absolutely certain. As if she saw far ahead into the future and knew Star and Marco will eventually become more than best friends.

"Thanks Janna," Star said with her first genuine smile in a long time.

"No problem."

 **A/N: I've made short bursts of progress on this chapter due to preparation for my college finals. Thanks for your patience! :3 I will try to update more frequently during my winter break.**

 **Please remember to review!**


	3. Chapter 3

The final bell wrung, thus indicating the end of the school day. The halls quickly flooded with students eager to go home for the weekend.

Star and Marco were the last to leave the classroom. As they walked towards the exit of the building, they talked about random things. Even deciding what to watch for their traditional Friday movie night.

It was simple conversations like these that Star yearned to have with Marco all day. Just silly and fun stuff.

But with Marco wanting to be with Jackie most of the day, it was impossible for Star to even have a moment alone with him.

And this was a rare moment.

But Star didn't feel jealous of Jackie anymore. Her newly-gained confidence from Janna suppressed that feeling. One remarkable thing about Janna is that she has a way of getting what she wants, even if it means invading personal belongings at times. If Janna says she knows how, then she really knew and that's why Star heavily took her words for advice.

"Hi Star," said a familiar voice from behind.

Star turned around to face none other than Jackie. That usual friendly and chill smile plastered on her face also made it easy for Star to respond with her over-the-top enthusiasm.

That's the Star Butterfly everyone knows and loves, as opposed to her previous phase of depression.

"Hey girl, what's up?"

"Just wanted to see what you've been up to. I know I haven't said a word to you all day, I'm sorry," Jackie said with a sincere apologetic tone.

"It's fine, totally fine! I mean you and Marco are a couple and all, just doing couple things."

As the two girls carried on with their conversation, Marco tuned them out.

He felt somewhat uncomfortable when hearing someone else other than him use the word "couple" as a label for him and Jackie. Lately, his relationship with Jackie became a heavy burden on his conscience.

It was only the second day of their relationship, and they had done a lot more kissing. Marco was doing most of it while Jackie was on the receiving end. He enjoyed it more than he should have.

Marco looked at Jackie in a way he hadn't before. He often caught himself staring a little too long, admiring her curvaceous body and dimensions from top to bottom.

He had constant erotic thoughts of her at such a premature stage of their relationship.

It was unhealthy.

It was wrong.

He felt dirty and ashamed of himself.

At this point, there is no use in denying that he is merely in love with her appearance rather than her personality. Which is equally just as beautiful, but largely under appreciated.

He felt a strong urge to distance himself from Jackie before these lustful thoughts spiral out of control. He wanted to go back to being just friends.

But he doesn't want to emotionally devastate her, either. He must find the right words to explain himself.

He would think of that later.

Marco looked at Star when she mentioned his name.

"See you at home," she said as she skipped away. "Bye Jackie!" Star exclaimed as she happily waved Marco and Jackie off, leaving them by themselves.

"So, wanna go to the skate park this weekend? We'll try harder not to bite it like last time," Jackie said playfully.

"You know I would want to, but I'm actually going to help Star take Glossaryck and her book of spells from Ludo this weekend. I promise we'll find some other time," Marco said while looking at her sheepishly, hoping Jackie would understand.

"It's cool, Marco, I get it. She needs you more than I." There wasn't a spec of sadness or disappointment in her voice. "I'd rather you and Star protect the universe from a power-hungry monster," Jackie said with a warm smile.

She then embraced Marco in a hug, which led to saying their goodbyes. It truly felt better than a kiss.

He had a feeling this simple gesture was Jackie's way of saying she had enough of the kissing for one day. He didn't blame her.

Star already traveled a considerable distance in the meantime. She stopped when she could hear feet pounding against the concrete from behind her.

Star smiled when she turned around to see Marco running to catch up to her.

"I couldn't just . . . let you walk home by yourself," Marco panted once he came to a rough stop.

Star's cheeks slightly turned a shade of pink. Although Marco didn't mean it in that way.

"Aw, Marco! Hugs!"

Star firmly wrapped her arms around Marco, almost squeezing him. It was the first time in a long while since they shared a hug.

However, Marco couldn't remember Star's hugs feeling so electrifying, so warm. When Star released her grip on Marco's sides, he almost ached for her touch again.

She felt the same.

After a while, Star and Marco finally arrived at the front door of their home. They entered the house to find it completely silent and still. Marco's parents weren't home to greet them.

Star set her backpack down in the living room and plopped on the couch. Marco set his down and headed for the kitchen.

"You want the usual, Star?"

"If you mean nachos, then YASS!"

Star sat on the couch waiting for some time in anticipation for the movie to start and some nachos to snack on. Suddenly, Star heard a loud ear-piercing scream of pain coming from the kitchen.

She quickly got up from the couch and raced over to Marco.

"Marco! What's wrong?"

"I accidentally burned my finger," Marco said as he winced in pain.

Marco allowed Star to analyze the barely visible white spot on his right index finger.

She could always refer to her wand for quick healing, but she didn't want to put Marco at risk of another tentacle arm incident.

"Star, is there any way you could magically fix this? I mean without any accidents like last time?"

She knew exactly what sort of magic she could use.

Star didn't say anything as she inched a little closer to Marco. She took Marco's hand and brought his burned finger to her lips.

Star gently kissed the area of his finger where it hurt. She had no idea where she got the courage to do it.

Marco didn't move.

Star could feel the increasing warmth in her face.

She could see Marco was blushing madly, too.

He felt a sort of zing that he never felt about Jackie's kisses. He was too deep in the moment that he forgot about the painful sting on his finger.

Like magic.

 **A/N: So so sorry for the long wait on this chapter! But the ending was worth it, right? :D I think one more chapter should wrap this story up.**


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